Seven banks fail European stress test

EU lenders have been given a largely clean bill of health when European banking regulators released the results of their so-called stress test on Friday.According to the eagerly anticipated results, 84 out of the tested 91 European banks would be able to cope with future economic blow-ups.Germany's Hyper Real Estate, Greece's Atebank and five Spanish banks- Banca Civica, Diada, Espiga and Unnim- failed the test. However, all listed Spanish banks passed. The overall capital shortfall among the failed banks was €3.5bn. Britain's banks also escaped relatively unscathed. The Financial Service Authority has already subjected the UK banks to a stress test said to be more vigorous the European version and none of the big UK banks failed that.HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan said the outcome of the test reinforces that HSBC is both financially strong and well positioned to deal with any further foreseeable economic downturn, while Barclays said it demonstrated that its capital position and resources are sufficient to meet its regulatory capital requirements.For those banks that passed the stress test, credit lines will ease and a return to normality awaits. For those that failed, it's the midnight oil working out how to raise money to refinance in a market where appetite for high risk debt is diminishing rapidly.Nova Ljubljanska Banka, Slovenia's largest bank, already confirmed earlier on Friday that it would seek to raise €400m via a rights issue despite passing the test.The euro reversed losses, Treasuries retreated and US stocks advanced after the results of the test were published.Critics of the test have said the criteria have been set so low it amounts to nothing more than a PR stunt to reassure investors in Europe. The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) said the stress tests assumes a double-dip recession with the economy shrinking by 3% over 2010 and 2011, stock markets falling by a fifth and sharp rises in interest rates.Banks failed the test if they were unable to maintain a Tier 1 capital ratio of 6% under each scenario.The CEBS said its test was harder than the US health check of its banks, with the adverse scenario in Europe having a one in 20 years possibility compared to a one in 7 years probability in the US test.